PERTH, Dec 19: Shane Warne, who with 87 wickets in 2005 holds the world record for maximum Test cricket wickets in a calendar year, has taken a dig at Muttiah Muralitharan, his main rival in the spinning stakes.

While not naming Muralitharan, he told The Australian that he expected his new record to be overtaken soon because of “cheap” wickets on offer in Test cricket. “It would be nice if it (new record) lasted another 25 years, but I don’t think it will,” Warne said.

“There’s a lot more cricket being played these days and you have teams like Zimbabwe and Bangladesh in there, with some teams playing them a lot more (than others).

“I’ve never played a Test against Bangladesh and only one against Zimbabwe, but there are some teams out there that play them a lot. And some blokes bowl at one end all day against those sort of countries and take lots of wickets.

“I’m sure that whoever those people are, they might get it (the record) next year,” Warne said, leaving little to the imagination about identity of principal contender for his record.

Muralitharan, who has a tally of 578 Test wickets, has taken a remarkable 34 wickets from four Tests against Bangladesh and 89 wickets in 14 Tests against Zimbabwe.

Warne attributed his 2005 record tally to his decision not to play one-dayers and its beneficial effects on his body. “One of the reasons I’m doing so well in Test cricket is that I’m not playing one-day cricket any more.

“The demands of one-day international cricket come because there are so many tournaments of three weeks or so here and there,” he said.

“In international cricket, it’s back-to-back games and all diving and throwing at training. In one-day cricket, you need to be good in the field, you need to dive around and have a good, flat throw. I hardly throw at all now, so that keeps my shoulder strong.”

Warne will have a chance to play his first Test against Bangladesh when Australia makes its historic first tour in April 2006.—PPI